Plan underway to move govt information to DataCo

Plans are underway for the transfer of the K145 million Inter-Government Information System (IGIS) to state-owned entity DataCo. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Francis Maneke announced that a policy would be in place to allow for the transfer. Maneke supports the transfer of IGIS to DataCo adding that it is a move in the right direction and also in line with the Government’s 100-day plan. “We will work with DataCo to roll out this important communication infrastructure. “I’m pleased to acknowledge that IGIS is the main framework for e-governance, however, I’m concerned that not many government departments and agencies are using the system although it is available to them. “I see that the facility is important in this country and we must make sure it is owned by this department and we have a cover over what is going to be transferred and we have a sustainable usage plan of that facility. “It has a purpose to serve, that is why I gave a direction and I gave one month to make sure that we have a policy to cover that transfer and the sustainability of that facility to make it more transparent, that it’s on record and we are guided by certain policies to utilise that facility in a more appropriate matter.” Maneke said the department would prepare a submission to the National Executive Council to establish a government ICT committee to look into and draft a policy to manage the transfer. Secretary Paulias Korni said the government had invested K145 million in the network under a funding agreement with the EXIM Bank of China. Korni said the project was completed in 2014 and the appreciation by departments and agencies to ride on that platform was not there. “We had capacity issues and have to look for a partner to ensure this is sustained in a commercial manner but serving our purposes to make the network user-friendly to the public sector,” he said. “There is a standing directive from Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari for all government agencies to migrate to the network. “We are going have a policy that will direct us and we have to work within that framework to ensure that DataCo operates the system for government.”